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The mysterious death of Natalie Wood, found drowned off the California coast in the winter of 1981, cast an inescapable pall over Brainstorm, the sci-fi thriller she was filming at the time she died. Earlier that year, its director Douglas Trumbull had spoken of his hopes for the film, telling Starlog Magazine that Brainstorm would be a “rare blend” of high-tech science fiction and the emotive family drama of Ordinary People, that year’s Best Picture winner.

“I want this film to have a very broad ap­peal outside of the [sci-fi] community,” Trumbull said. “I would like this film to attract people who normally don’t go to movies.”

But upon its release in 1983, following nearly two years of behind-the-scenes...